Machine for cleaning cotton



UNITED STATES PATENT F. A. CALVERT, OF LOWELL, AND C.` G. SARGENT, OF VESTFORD, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR CLEANING COTTON.

Specification of Letters Patent No.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANCIS A. CALVERT, of Lowell, and CHAS. G. SARGENT, of Westford, both in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Machines for Oleaning Cotton and Vool, of which t-he following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, making part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a plan. Fig. 9. is a longitudinal Vertical section through the center of the machine.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand our invention, we will proceed to describe the manner in which we have carried it out, setting forth generally the operation of the machine, and more particularly those features which form the subject of our invention.

The material is brought into the machine upon an apron as usual, and is taken from the feed roll C, by the teeth of the picking cylinder D, by which it is carried forward over the grating N. From this cylinder it is taken off by the working cylinder E, having a more rapid surface motion than the first picking cylinder D, thence it is carried forward under the diaphragm L, t-o the fine tooth cylinder F, which revolves at a slow rate, and upon the teeth of which the material is worked or picked by the rapidly revolving cylinder E. The cotton or liber thus worked into the teeth of the cylinder F, is carried forward over` the edge of the diaphragm L, and submitted with is motes, dirt, and other foreign matter to the action of the fluted metallic guard or beater Gr, which has a rapid surface mot-ion in a direction contrary to that of the cylinder F. By this guard the dirt and motes as well as any bunches of unopened cotton which may remain upon the surface of the cylinder F, are beaten off and thrown back upon the iirst picking cylinder D, being prevented from falling upon the cylinder E by the diaphram L. The foreign matter thus thrown upon this cylinder is carried around by it, and permitted to pass through the grating N, into the receptacle below, and the unopened cotton which is thrown olf by the guard is carried back and again submitted to the action of all the cylinders as already described. The cotton or other liber now remaining upon the cylinder F, together with 16,526, dated February 3, 1857.

the fine particles of dirt that have not been beaten off by the guard, is carried forward to the brush cylinder I, which strips olf the cotton and remaining dirt, and passes them over the 3d grating P, the cotton being' wafted by the current of air produced by this cylinder onto the cylinder R, or out of the machine; heretofore the material has been taken off the cylinder E, by the teeth of the cylinder F, the latter revolving with an accelerated Surface motiony for the purpose, the cotton was thus taken off by the cylinder F, in bunches and less uniformly than is desirable, as any unevenn/ess at this stage is felt through all the subsequent operations to the injury of the final thread produced.

v The object of the first part of our invention 1s to remove this objection which we accomplish by giving a rapid surface motion to the cylinder' E, in a direction contrary to that of the cylinder F, by which means the material is carded into the teeth of the latter in a thin and uniform film and the ditliculty before mentioned is obviated.

Efforts have heretofore been made to place a grating beneath the brush in machines of this class, but without success, as no way has been contrived by which the fly or fiber thrown off by the brush could be recovered.

To accomplish this is the object of the second branch of our invention, which consists in placing the brush over the cylinder, E, and permitting the dust and fiber which passes through its grating, to fall upon this cylinder, by which the fiber is retained while the dust passes through the grating O, into the receptacle beneath.

We are thus enabled to give the fiber a iinal dusting after it has been carded onto the fine tooth cylinder and submitted to the action of the guard, and while it hangs loosely upon the brush, and this we accomplish without the loss of the fly or fiber, which is thrown off by the brush.

j, is a sharp metallic edge or cut off which is adjusted to the brush so as to clean it of any adhering material. The cylinder R which receives the cotton from the brush is made of perforated sheet metal, the air being exhausted from within it by means of fans in the customary manner.

The framework of the machine is tightly boxed up so that the air which supplies the cylinder R is taken from the space thus inclosed; this produces a gentle current through the gratings N, O, and P by which the dust which passes through these gratings is carried off through the Cylinder R and any fibers or fly which the current may contain. are left upon the surface of this cylinder.

le construct our bars of strips of sheet metal, the upper edges of which are bent nearly at right angles with the other portion of the strips as seen in Fig. 1. A sharp well defined edge is thus provided, by which the opening to the receptacle below is brought up near to the circle of revolution of the picking cylinder, and an enlarged open space is provided immediately below this edge, into which the dust inds its way as it is detached from the passing cotton, and from which, owing to the size of the opening below it, is not again withdrawn by the currents set in motion by the revolving cylinder.

It will be observed that the above construction of grate affords a much larger amount of grate opening than has heretofore been attained.

The direction in which the cylinders revolve is indicated by the arrows, and the parts are set in motion by suitable bands or otherwise in a manner which need not be particularized.

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent isl. The above described arrangement of the cylinders D E and F the guard G and the diaphragm L, whereby the motes and dirt removed by the guard G are thrown back upon the first Cylinder in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

2. The grating P beneath the brush I which takes the material from oi the fine tooth cylinder when the brush is placed over the cylinder E whereby the fly is either again carded Vonto the cylinder F or is recovered upon the surface of the perforated cylinder R; the dust all passing through this cylinder in the manner substantially as herein set forth.

FRS. A. CALVERT. CHARLES G. SARGENT.

Vitnesses:

A. F. L. Nonnrs, H. S. BLAsiDEN. 

